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Origins of International Women's Day
March 8th is International Women's Day, a global celebration that recognizes women's centuries-long struggle for equality, justice and peace. Born in the midst of protest and social turbulence, International Women's Day has become a national holiday in many countries, including Russia, Cambodia and the European Union. In the U.S., the day became the motivating force for the designation of March as Women's History Month.
The idea for a women's day first arose at the turn of the 20th century among members of the Socialist Party of America. Socialist women helped to organize the first national Women's Day on February 28th, 1909. At the time, the Socialist Party was the only political party to endorse woman suffrage. Meta Berger, wife of the nation's only Socialist congressman, Victor Berger, was active in both the socialist and suffrage movements in Wisconsin, and endorsed the establishment of a day to celebrate the nation's women.
Two years later, in 1911, Women's Day became an international event. Greeted with the unanimous approval of 100 women from 17 countries at the Socialist International meeting in Denmark, the first global celebration occurred on March 19. The date was changed to March 8 on the eve of World War I, when women held rallies to protest the war. International Women's Day received official United Nations recognition in 1975, which led to its adoption in many countries that had not previously participated.
Women's History Month began as a weeklong celebration to coincide with International Women's Day in 1978. Congress expanded the week to a full month in 1987. You can learn more about women in Wisconsin on our women's history page and in the pages of WHS Press author Genevieve McBride's Women's Wisconsin: From Native Matriarchies to the New Millennium.
:: Posted March 8, 2006
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